Mockery Of Assembly Session
THE brief three-day session of our state legislative assembly starting on July 28 sets out to merely comply with the constitutional obligation. The curtailed schedule of the session is a blow to democracy, and it is a mockery of the legislature. It a well-planned move to throttle voices of the Opposition. This is a devious way of taking shelter in the current epidemic by a government that does not want to be accountable for its acts of omission and commission. It is an irony that the government, which has been holding elections to local bodies and all other functions including the mega public hearings on the draft coastal zone management plan, has chosen to curtail the monsoon session to prevent debate and discussions on many crucial issues confronting the very wellbeing of our state. During this pandemic the government has swiftly taken so many decisions having adverse effect on the state. Land conversions, hill cutting and land filling of low-lying fields have been going on with the politically well-connected land mafia having a field’s day under the guise of COVID-19 management. There is no greater time than the present for elected representatives to debate and take actions to bring about changes for the benefit of the people. With the economy deteriorating, there should have been a proper and extensive monsoon session, as the fundamental job of our MLAs is to debate and enact good legislations while finding appropriate solutions to the problems faced by the people.
AIRES RODRIGUES, RIBANDAR
Put Up Traffic Signboards In Ponda
THE traffic signboard on a speed-breaker at the junction at Shantinagar in Ponda has been found wanting, which has posed dangers to motorists. A two-wheeler rider travelling at full speed can meet with an accident at the spot, in the absence of the much-needed signboard. Similarly, another speed-breaker signboard at Sitara Motors, in the vicinity of the abovementioned junction, has been lying over the ground amidst bushes. Travellers need to be assured of safety at this stretch of the road. Hence it is the need of the hour for the concerned authorities to put up new signboards as early as possible.
PRAVIN U SARDESSAI, ADPAI
BJP At Crossroads In Uttarakhand
TIRATH Singh Rawat, who recently resigned as Uttarakhand chief minister, enjoyed power for less than four months. Possible constitutional stalemate was cited for the decision of the BJP high command asking Rawat to step down. The Election Commission has recently said it would be difficult for it to hold elections in the next few months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Having received a royal dressing down from the High Courts and the Supreme Court for ‘abdicating its responsibility’ during the assembly elections in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, it is but natural that the commission did not want to take any chances. Ditto with the BJP. No Uttarakhand chief minister has completed a full five-year-term in office except N D Tiwari of the Congress. The state has seen as many as ten chief ministers. The new, and the eleventh, head of the government – Pushkar Singh Dhami – is young, and has a strong RSS background. He is a second-time legislator. The party bigwigs have tried to balance the caste and regional equation by bringing in Dhami, a Thakur, from the hill region. These count in the run-up to the assembly elections as and when it happens next year. Though the party can feel satisfied for striking a balance, the electorate will ask questions; the party will have to explain why it had to frequently go for change of guard in the state. Why a party that boasts of shrewd electoral brains could not foresee the awkward situation? By-election was held in April to an assembly seat; Rawat could have been offered the seat though the party was reportedly worried about his winnability. Two assembly seats in the state are vacant; besides the constitutional demand, the party was again not certain about Tirath Rawat winning in one of those. So much so for the thinking abilities of ‘chanakyas’ of the BJP high command. The faction-ridden BJP in the state has to pull up its socks to have a fair chance in the next year’s polls.
GANAPATHI BHAT. AKOLA